Family
by Gremblin
Summary: Toad gets a daughter, and turns his life upsidedown. He's forced to live with the Evoverse Brotherhood and gets an immediate dislike for Pietro. R&R people! FINALLY FINISHED, SEQUEL COMING.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the X-men. I wish I did, because then I'd make my stories into all kinds of movies and be rolling in the money. But I don't. And I'm not. So don't sue me. I own nothing.

**Authors Note:** I've been writing this for a while now, and decided to put some of it onto to see what people other than my little sister think about it.  
Now I can't take all the credit for the idea. I got it from JuJuBe's story _'The Daddy'._ You should go and read that story right after reviewing this one. You ARE going to review, or risk be eaten by flaming plot bunnies riding orange motorcycles. You have been warned.

In the dark corner of a forgotten room in an ignored basement, a young girl sat. The floor was cold cement and the pipes that crisscrossed the ceiling dripped. The girl was curled up, desperately trying to stay warm. She played with a torn picture in her hand. It was the only possession she had. It was her only proof that she wasn't alone in the world, that she had a loving family somewhere.

She shivered slightly as the door opened to reveal a beautiful woman wearing a sparkly blue dress. The woman's hair was done up and her face word makeup that was expertly done. The woman looked at the girl with utter hatred.

"When is Daddy coming home?" The girl asked quietly. Her voice shook. It was painfully obvious that she had received beating from the woman. The woman laughed. It wasn't a nice laugh, but one that showed how much the woman hated the girl.

"Daddy's never coming for you. He left because he hated you and he hated me. He never loved you. He never will love you." The woman said off-handedly. She tossed a TV dinner – still frozen in the package – towards the girl and left without another word or a second thought. The girl tore at the package and ate the still frozen food hungrily. She only had something to eat once a day.

A tear ran down the girl's cheek as she thought of what the woman had said. She had never loved the woman, and knew that the woman lied a lot.

"Daddy will come for me. He does love me." She whispered to herself as she looked at the picture. It was of a smiling man holding her as a baby. The picture was in black and white, but the girl loved it with all her heart.

The girl woke up to an alarm going off. She jumped over to the door and tried to pull it open. But it was locked – as always – and it was useless to try and pull it open.

She felt the door and it was warm. It surprised her because the door was made of metal and was usually freezing cold to the touch. The girl pressed herself up against it, reveling in the warmth.

Soon it got too hot for her to touch so she jumped back. She knew that something was wrong. She looked at her picture wishing she knew what to do.

She heard footsteps and voices. At first she was quiet, thinking it was the woman with her friends again. But she didn't care anymore, she wanted out. She started banging on the door and yelling.

"Let me out! Help me! Let me out!"

The footsteps hurried towards her and there was a banging on the door. She backed away and kept yelling. Soon the door opened to reveal two men, in what looked like space suits, in front of fire. The one closest to her grabbed her arm and pulled the girl with him. The other man followed behind.

The girl stayed silent. She wondered where the woman was, and if the spacemen had saved her too.

Two Weeks Later

Toad walked down the long metal hallway towards his bedroom. He nodded 'hi' to Pyro as he passed. He turned towards his door and kicked it open, not bothering to use the doorknob. He wondered when the knob would fall off.

He looked around his room. His most prized possession, his computer, sat in one corner beside his bed. His close second, his stereo, was sitting on a shelf above his bed. Toad jumped into his swivel chair, allowing himself a moment to contemplate spinning a few times, before turning the computer on.

He logged onto his email – thetoadmsn.ca – and checked his inbox. There were a few junk emails trying to sell him bamboo flooring, a email from Mystique telling him that 'Senator Kelly' was going to need his 'Services' on the fourteenth, and another from someone he'd never heard of.

He hovered over the last one, contemplating opening it. The subject bar said it was urgent, and that he needed to reply ASAP, but then a lot of junk mail said that too.

He finally clicked on it after figuring that if it had a virus he could easily find out who sent it and kill them. He scrolled down to the actual message and nearly fell backwards off his chair at its contents.

_ Mr. Toynbee;_ (Toad cringed at the sound of his actual name)

_ My name is Julia O'Brian. I work for social services and regret to inform you  
that an old friend of yours by the name of Katherine Brown has recently diedin a  
__house fire. She has left behind an eight-year-old daughter, and it was one of her  
__wishes in her will that the daughter be left to you._

_ Giving your occupation, however, by law we would not usually be allowed to  
give the child to you. But because of extreme circumstances we are willing to allow  
__you to take her. If you come by my office to pick up the child, we are willing to  
allow her to go home with you._

_ Yours truly,_

_ Julia O'Brian._

Toad sat back in his chair. He had forgotten about Katherine. She had been a one-night stand when he had first joined The Brotherhood. She had been a pretty lady in trouble at a bar one night. He had kept the drunk guys off her and in return she had brought him to her home.

He hadn't seen her till nine months later, when she had finally called him saying that he was a father. He had been seventeen at the time and it had scared him silly. He had gone down anyways to her hospital to see her.

He hadn't ever seen her or his daughter again. Sure he had sent her a check every now and then (when he had the money) to help her out but she had forbidden him from visiting.

"What's the matter Toad?" came a voice behind him. Toad quickly downsized the screen and looked around. It was only Dime. She was the newest and youngest Brotherhood recruit.

"Nothin'. 'Ow's it goin' wif you? Tooth trainin' yeh right?" Toad asked her with a grin. He knew full well that Sabertooths training sessions were long, hard, and very painful. Toad had once been given the choice of running ten laps around the island instead with lead weights on his legs and arms instead of training. He had chosen the laps.

"Don't ask. What's up with you? You look like you had just been told that Magneto had joined the X-Goons." Dime said with a smile.

"I said nothin'. It's none o'yer business so buzz off." Toad replied irritably. He got up and left. He closed his bedroom door behind him and locked it. He walked down the hall towards Magneto's study to ask if he could leave to pick the girl up.

He didn't see Dime push his door open and read his email.

"So you had no idea?" Magneto asked. His fingers formed a steeple on his desk. Toad shook his head.

"I knew. She jus' told me not t'go and see them. Besides, I woz busy 'ere." Toad said. Magneto looked like he was thinking.

"Does the girl have powers?" Magneto asked. Toad knew he was thinking of the fact that he himself had been a mutant from birth.

"She's a mutant." Toad said.

"Take Pyro with you. Just in case." Magneto said. Toad nodded quickly before backing out of the room. He found Pyro playing pool in the main room. Pyro followed Toad unquestioningly. He had learned quickly that when it came to Magneto's orders, you don't ask questions.

"So where are we going?" Pyro asked as he followed Toad to the helicopter. Toad just growled in response. He didn't want Pyro along and the boy was going to know it.

"You're starting to sound like Sabertooth." Pyro mumbled as he pulled out a game boy. Toad ignored the comment as he allowed himself to get lost in the joy of flying.

Toad and Pyro walked into the office building. Pyro still had no idea where they were going. His questions had gone unanswered.

Toad's hood was pulled up as far as it would comfortably go as he walked up to the desk. He asked where Julia O'Brian's office was and thanked the secretary when she told him. They both went onto the elevator and rode it to the fourth floor. Toad told Pyro to wait there for him. Pyro wanted to protest but the look in Toad's eyes told him not to.

Toad walked down the hallway. He was enjoying the silence as he read the little nameplates on the doors he was passing. He saw the right one and stopped. He took a deep breath to try and calm the thousand butterflies in his stomach before opening the door and stepping in.

Toad looked quickly around the room as he walked in. There was a secretary behind a desk and no one else. There were two more doorways, one on either side of him. The floor had soft beige carpeting and leather chairs on either side of a mahogany table. One the table was a short stack of magazines that were probably years old.

Toad walked up to the secretary and was told to go through the door on the right. He did as he was told, making sure to knock first. He entered and the first thing he saw was a young girl sitting in a chair. She looked scared stiff and was obviously a mutant. Her body was covered in dark-green scales, but the scales stopped at her fingers. The skin on her fingers and palms was a light green colour, similar to Toad's. Her fingers ended in claws like an alligators. Her hair was crudely cut to the bottoms of her ears, which ended in small points. She had a long tail, much like Nightcrawler's only green.

Toad couldn't help but stare at the girl until he remembered why he was there. He walked up to the lady on the other side of the desk. She was about his age, give or take a few years. She smiled sweetly at him.

"I assume you're Mr. Toynbee?" She said happily. Toad grunted. The lady, Julia O'Brian, didn't seem perturbed by it though.

"There's only a few sheets that you need to fill out before you can take her." Julia said. She held out a clipboard with a few papers on it, which toad took and quickly filled out. He glanced up at the girl a few times as he filled the forms and saw that she kept looking at a small black and white photo. He wondered absently what it was of as he finished filling out the forms and handing them back to Julia.

"Okay. Everything seems to be in order." Julia said happily. She stood up and walked over to the girl. She knelt down and looked the girl in the eye. "Emily, this man is your Daddy. It's time for you to go with him." Julia said kindly. The girl, Emily, nodded and looked up at Toad. Her eyes were a piercing blue.

"Will you love me?" Emily asked. She looked scared and it made Toad's heart ache.

"O' course I will." Toad said. Emily smiled happily and ran up to Toad. She hugged him around his waist.

"Are you going to take me home?" She asked as they walked out of the office and down the hallway. Toad nodded.

"Where d'you live?" She asked happily. Her tail was wrapped around her waist. It was holding up a pair of pants that were obviously too big for her.

"Far away where no 'umans can ge' us." Toad said. They rounded a corner and could see Pyro leaning against the wall next to the elevator. Toad gave Pyro a look that dared him to say something. Pyro knew full well that Toad didn't like him.

"Who are you?" Emily asked Pyro. She had a wide smile on her face as she looked up at him. He clicked his lighter and dropped it into his pocket. Pyro was about to answer before Toad cut in.

"Pyro. C'mon Em. We need t'get goin'." Toad growled. He was glaring at Pyro with daggers in his eyes. Pyro got the hint he wasn't to talk to Emily, or at all, during the trip. Toad knew that it probably wouldn't last. But Toad also knew that Sabertooth would gladly turn over Pyro's training for a day or two if Toad asked.

The three went into the elevator in silence. Toad and Pyro didn't say anything. At first Emily was quiet too. She reached her hand up slowly to hold Toad's hand. She was really eager for human contact. Toad's heart jumped when he felt her small hand envelope his own. He had an urge to pull his hand away but fought it back. He looked sideways at Pyro, who had a grin on his face.

Toad silently vowed to make Pyro's training hell, as they walked down the street to where the helicopter was hidden.

**Authors note 2:** I just love putting Toad in awkward situations! Who doesn't! It's just so damn fun!

So… review! Obey the smexy blue button that's probably directly below this sentence. I again mention the flaming plotbunnies that ride motorcycles… their anger can hurt sometimes; you don't want to be attacked by them. REVIEW OR BE ATTACKED BY MY ANGRY PLOTBUNNIES!


	2. Chapter 2

Toad sat down in the pilot's seat and pulled on the helmet. He told Emily to sit in the seat beside him. That left Pyro to sit alone in the back. Emily seemed interested in everything and started to ask what all the buttons did. Toad put the auto-pilot on so that he could safely answer her. He didn't know why, but he felt that there was something wrong about bringing an eight-year-old to the island.

He smiled as she asked another question. He figured that at least Dime would have a playmate.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Toad expertly landed the 'copter in it's hanger, just like he had so many times before. Emily had stopped asking questions when they had come up to the island. She seemed to be amazed at everything.

Toad lead Emily out of the helicopter into the hanger. Magneto was standing there, looking past Toad at the girl. Emily had hidden behind Toad upon seeing Magneto. She peeked out from behind Toad's legs when he placed his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"This is the girl?" Magneto asked. Toad nodded quickly. Magneto walked up to Toad and looked him straight in the eyes before kneeling down to look at Emily.

"Are you a bad man?" Emily asked quietly. Magneto smiled.

"No. I am a mutant just like you. I am trying to help our kind survive." Magneto said slowly. Emily came out from behind Toad's legs to get a better look at Magneto. She walked up to him and looked at Magneto's hair.

"Are you my grand-dad?" She asked curiously. She touched his silver hair as he laughed quietly. Toad couldn't help but smile. He wondered what Magneto would say.

"Do you want me to be?" Magneto asked her. Emily lowered her hand and looked at him. She looked confused.

"I dunno, only if you really are." She said sheepishly. Toad couldn't help but smile. Magneto smiled and stood up. He looked at Toad and his smile disappeared.

"Find her a room. Then show her around." Magneto ordered before turning and stalking away. Toad watched Magneto leave before turning his attention to Emily. She was looking up at him expectantly. Toad quickly thought of all the rooms near his that were empty.

"Can we go get something to eat?" Emily asked. Toad nodded, motioning for her to follow. She grabbed his hand and followed him eagerly.

Toad led her down hallways. He occasionally pointed to a door and explained what was in the room, or whose room it was. Emily never seemed to run out of questions.

The came to a dark hallway and he paused to tell her about it. A shiver ran up his spine as he thought of the people who inhabited the hallway.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked quietly. She apparently had realized the fact that this was a hallway to be careful around. And for good reason too, the lights lining the hallway were dimmed and there were scratches lining the walls.

"Never go down this hallway." Toad said quietly.

"Why? Who's down there?" She asked.

"The Torture Twins." Toad replied. "C'mon." Toad started leading her away when one of the doors burst open and a figure flew out, hitting the wall opposite and sliding to the floor. Toad pushed Emily behind him and got ready to fight. Emily understood to stay behind him, and did so.

"The figure stood up and turned to the open door, then looked at Toad and Emily. The figure started to walk towards them slowly.

"We didn' do nothin' Luke. You know tha' so back off." Toad said. The figure, Luke, paused momentarily.

"I am not allowed to greet the newcomer? Surely that isn't against the rules." Luke said. His voice was smooth, unwavering. Like greasy ice.

"No. She don' need t'know you." Toad growled. Luke had started walking forward again. Emily was shivering.

"Make him go away." Emily whispered. She was gripping the bottom of Toad's shirt.

"Back off Luke." Toad growled.

"Yes Luke, back off." A new voice said. Luke immediately stopped and looked back. There was a figure in the open doorway. The figure looked like a lady.

"Back off Luke. Leave the girl alone." The lady ordered. Luke didn't move.

"I would not harm the girl. She is an innocent. Toad, however, is another story." Luke said. Toad started backing away.

"The girl needs her father, despite the number of times he has evaded us." The lady said. Luke growled and stalked backwards. He went into another room. Toad let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"Leave now before I change my mind." The lady said as she entered her room and slammed the door behind her. Toad picked Emily up and ran down a series of hallways, stopping only when they entered the kitchen. His heart was beating fast and sweat was beading on his forehead. Emily was shaking, even though she had never met the two before.

"Who was that?" Emily asked as Toad put her down. He slumped down against the wall and started shivering. Toad had never liked those two, they gave him the creeps. The two rarely left their hallway. No one went into their hallway either, unless they were in trouble. Even Sabertooth tried to avoid the hallway. Only Magneto could safely go into the hallway without getting creeped out.

"Those were the torture twins. Luke an' Siva." Toad said. Emily came and sat down in his lap and started crying into his shoulder. Toad tried to comfort her. They sat there for five minutes until Emily calmed down and fell asleep in his arms. Toad didn't know what to do, so he just sat there with her in his lap.

Mystique walked into the room and at first didn't notice the two there. When she did notice them she grinned and walked over to him. She sat down beside him and touched his shoulder with her hand. He shivered at her touch but did nothing else.

"So this is her?" Mystique asked quietly. Toad didn't ask how she knew. Dime had probably picked the lock on his door (again) and read his email. Then she would have told everyone and their dog.

"When'd you ge' 'ere?" Toad asked.

"Just a few minutes ago. I flew Kelly's chopper here, figured you'd like to play with it." Mystique said. She reached over and moved a piece of Emily's brown hair away from her eyes. Toad felt a surge of love for both Emily and Mystique.

"Wha' am I gonna do 'stique?" Toad asked her quietly. He was looking down at Emily's small face. She was clutching at the fabric of his shirt as she slept.

"What do you mean?" Mystique asked. She had a look of confusion mixed with worry on her face. Toad sighed.

"I can' raise a bleedin' kid! I can barely take care of meself!" He whispered. He felt an unfamiliar surge of fear surface and he didn't like it. Mystique grinned at him.

"You're not alone, you know. You're surrounded by people that'll help you. All you need to do is ask." And with that Mystique left to let Toad contemplate her words in silence.

Emily's eye's opened and she looked up to him. She had a smile on her face. Toad looked down at her and smiled back.

"Now 'ow abou' tha' food?" He asked. Her grin widened and she nodded. Toad stood up, bringing her up into his arms, and carrying her to the counter. He sat her down on the counter and grinned.

"Wha' would yeh like?" Toad asked her nervously. She looked surprised that he asked her but happy at the same time.

"Bacon and eggs!" Emily said. Her tail unwound from her waist and started swishing back and forth behind her. Toad smiled. Bacon and eggs was his specialty.

"'Ow many d'you wan'?" Toad asked as he went into the fridge.

"Hmm… Seven!" Emily said with a wide grin. Toad smiled and grabbed the box of eggs and put them on the counter beside Emily. He opened some of the cupboards and went for a pan.

" 'ow 'bout we start a' three an' work up from there?" He asked. She nodded her head quickly while he continued looking for a pan. He stood up quickly when there was a crash outside the door. He ran over to Emily and prepared himself for anything. Sounds of fighting came from outside the door and Toad felt Emily's hand clutch his arm. He reached back and touched her knee.

They stood there, waiting for the fight they could hear just outside the door to enter the kitchen. Soon enough, there was a thump saying someone had been beaten. Toad chided himself for not setting up the security system. He silently vowed that, should he survive the coming fight, he'd start setting it up.

The door burst open to reveal Wolverine. Toad glanced down to Wolverine's knuckles and the fact that his claws weren't extended.

"Back away from the girl, Toad." Wolverine said as he pointed at Toad. Toad gulped and shook his head. Emily kissed the back of Toad's head quickly. Wolverine looked confused for a few seconds, but quickly went back to angry.

"Don't make me hurt you." Wolverine said. His claws appeared from his hands. Toad felt Emily jump.

"I'm no' afraid o'you." Toad said. He went into his fighting stance, getting ready for Wolverine to attack. Toad took two small steps forward and two steps to the side, putting a little distance between Emily and him. The last thing he wanted was for Wolverine to miss and hit her.

"Daddy!" Emily shrieked. Toad whipped around and saw Nightcrawler standing in front of Emily. He was trying to get a hold of her but she wasn't letting him. Toad whipped around and punched Nightcrawler in the side of his head, causing the elf to stumble and give Toad enough time to grab Emily.

"Vhat? Wolverine I refuse to separate a child from zhere parent. Despite whom zah parent is." Nightcrawler said. Toad's heart was racing as he held Emily in his arms. Wolverine growled as Toad placed a shaking Emily on the ground. He turned to face Wolverine, and Emily started cry8ing. Toad didn't know what to do. AT that moment Wolverine charged, and Emily screamed. Toad grabbed Emily and jumped over Wolverine and ran out the door, only to meet up with Cyclops. Cyclops punched Toad square in the forehead, knocking him out instantly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I am not affiliated in any way with Marvel. I do not own, nor am I under the impression that I own any part of Marvel. Do not sue me for being a fan. All you will get is my homework.

**Authors Note:** Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! They make me so happy! Keep them coming!

**_Ed's Tomato:_** I'm sorry I had stick-up-his-ass knock Toad out. But someone had to, and he was just conveniently placed. That and my mom wanted me to have Cyclops in it. Don't worry… he'll get his due eventually….

**_JuJuBe:_** Please don't hurt me with your wrath! Cowers in fear of wrath

**_Carmilla DeWinter:_** It does seem to be the thing here, isn't it? But I agree. It is just too much fun to quit. And I'm thinking about giving Emily a half-brother… insert evil grin here

**_BeastBoyBlitz:_** You say I'm the master of suspense? I can't possibly… We're all pretty good at it. What about your latest chapter of 'We Meet Again'? Huh? Can you say cliffy? UPDATE GODDAMMIT! WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!

**_Lady Em-Chan:_** takes cookies munch munch munch….. MY COOKIES!

And now onto the story!

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Toad groaned as he slowly woke up. He tried to remember what he had been doing. His eyes shot open as he remembered and he tried to sit up. He found that he wasn't able to though. He was somehow being restrained. He fought against the straps that were holding him down. They were too stiff and hard though. He couldn't fight them.

He heard voices and quickly pretended to be asleep. He heard them enter and walk over to him. They were talking quietly. But he could hear every word.

"She refuses to do anything." Toad recognized the voice as Storms.

"Anything?" Toad recognized this as Xavier's.

"Anything. Eat, Sleep, And Talk. All she does is sit in a corner and cry. We need Toad to wake up." Storm said. She sounded genuinely worried.

"I think he's already awake." Xavier smiled. Toad opened his eyes again. HE glared at the two standing above him.

"Lemmie go. I 'aven't done nuffin' to yeh to warrant bein' strapped to a bed." Toad said calmly. Xavier smiled at Toad, and Storm glared at him. Toad kept his face emotionless.

"We have no idea if you would attack us." Xavier said.

"I never went at yeh. You lot brought me an' my daughter 'ere on yer own accord. I'd 'ave every righ' to attack yeh." Toad said. Xavier seemed to be thinking about this statement.

"Please. I only wan' t'see Emily." Toad said. Storm laughed cruelly. Xavier looked sympathetic, but shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I cannot allow that. As it is you are here solely because of Nightcrawler's conscience." Xavier turned when Wolverine and Cyclops entered the room. "They will escort you to your cell. Do not resist or they will be forced to do you harm." Xavier said before leaving. Storm followed behind him.

Toad thought vaguely about struggling. But then he remembered Emily and the fact that the X-men still had her. So he did nothing and just let them lead him through the sub-basement.

They pushed him into a cell and immediately when he turned around a laser field appeared. Wolverine left but Cyclops stayed. HE was looking at Toad Curiously.

"I never would have figured you as a family man." Cyclops said quietly.

"Please, jus' lemmie see Emily. Ge' 'er t'eat." Toad pleaded. He touched the lasers and pulled his hand away sharply when his fingers got burnt. Cyclops looked at Toad sadly.

"I'll bring her down here so you can talk." Cyclops said quietly before he left. Toad sat down against a wall and allowed himself a few moments to cry to himself. He knew it was his fault for Emily being captured. If only he had of gone the other way, if only he had realized that Cyclops had been waiting around that corner.

He heard footsteps and quickly dried his eyes. He watched the door open and Cyclops enter leading Emily. Her beautiful blue eyes were red from the amount of crying she had been doing. She looked up and saw Toad, and her face immediately brightened up.

"Can I go in with him?" Emily asked Cyclops. Cyclops started shaking his head, but the look on Emily's face stopped him. He went over to the control panel and flicked a switch that allowed Emily to enter.

She ran in and enveloped Toad in a huge hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he knelt down and her tail wrapped around one of his arms. She started crying into his shirt. Toad saw Cyclops leave out of the corner of his eye.

"Daddy, I was so scared." Emily whispered. Toad nodded. He sat down against the wall and sat her down in his lap, similar to when they had been in the kitchen. Emily immediately started to calm down.

"You're gonna 'ave t'be a big girl now." Toad said to her quietly. Emily nodded her head.

"Is Grand-dad going to come save us?" Emily asked. Toad nodded.

"'es gonna try. But right now you need t'do somfin for me." Toad said. Emily looked excited. "You need to do the exact opposite of what people tell you. Unless it's to eat, or sleep. Don't tell them anythin' 'bout the island, or anyone on it. Okay?" Toad hoped she'd listen to him.

"Okay Daddy. What if Grand-dad comes? Do I listen to what he says?" Emily asked with a mischievous smile. Toad laughed.

"Yes, do wha' 'e says, and wha' I say, no one else." Toad laughed. He pulled Emily in closer to him and hugged her. She snuggled into him, getting comfortable. She closed her eyes and smiled happily.

"I love you Daddy." Emily whispered to him. Toad's heart jumped as he allowed a smile to creep onto his face.

"I love you too, Em." Toad whispered back. They both fell asleep like that, just happy to be together.

**/Cyclops/**

Cyclops walked into Professor Xavier's office. Xavier looked up at him from the physics paper he had been grading.

"Yes Scott?" Xavier asked.

"Professor I think we made a mistake." Cyclops said.

"Yes, I fear that we have." Xavier sighed.

"Has Magneto contacted you yet?" Cyclops asked.

"No, not yet. I don't think that he has realized that Toad is missing." Xavier said. He looked worriedly at Cyclops.

"Should we release him?" Cyclops asked.

"No. You know we wouldn't be able to leave the girl with Toad. And I fear that we wouldn't be able to control her if we released Toad and not her." Xavier said worriedly.

He didn't realize the irony of his words.

**/Toad/**

"Calm down squirt!" Wolverine yelled. He was trying to get Emily away from Toad. She refused to go without a fight though. Wolverine was having trouble holding her down.

"Lemmie go! I want to stay with my Daddy!" Emily screeched. Her arms and legs were fighting against Wolverine's arms. Her tail had made its way to Wolverine's neck and was slowly squeezing tighter. Toad was standing behind the lasers of his cell door. He had a smirk on his face as he watched Emily fight. He felt proud that she was such a good fighter. She was doing everything she could to stop Wolverine from taking her away. There was a shout when she bit Wolverine's arm, and revealed her sharp carnivorous teeth.

Wolverine snarled as he dropped Emily from surprise. She ran and flicked the switch to lower the beams and let Toad go. Toad grinned and ran to her, grabbing her as he ran past. Toad slimed Wolverine's face as an afterthought, to slow the big man down.

Toad ran down the hallway, stopping when he came up to three different hallways. He had no clue where to go. Emily tapped his shoulder – she had been shifted onto his back so that he could run easier – and pointed down one of the hallways.

"That way!" She whispered frantically. Toad ran in the direction she had said, figuring that that hallway was as good as any others. She told him to stop, so he did. She jumped down and ran over to a door. Emily reached up and pressed a button. A door opened to reveal an elevator, which he was quickly pulled into. He just let her lead him around quickly. She seemed to know where she was going.

They soon ended up outside, running down the drive towards the locked gate. Emily seemed dejected at finding the gate locked. Their escape had gone so well too! Toad grinned, however. He grabbed her around her waist and launched himself into the air with her in his arms. An alarm started going off as Toad ran down the street, with Emily piggybacking.

**/Magneto/**

Magneto smiled as he heard the stress in Xavier's voice. Apparently they had captured Toad and Emily, and then lost them because Wolverine couldn't handle the little girl.

"What do you propose I do? Magically teleport them back to my island? 1 It was your people that brought them there in the first place." Magneto said to the picture of Xavier on his videophone.

"Yes, but we realize now that it was a huge misunderstanding." Xavier said tiredly. Magneto grinned malevolently.

"You made a mistake? The great Charles Xavier made a mistake?" Magneto taunted. Mystique came in and placed a file on his desk quickly before leaving again.

"Yes. I made a mistake. I am only human after all." Xavier said.

"Fix your mistake then. I'm not here to fix them for you." Magneto said before hanging up.

Magneto smiled and picked the phone up. He dialed his group of recruits in the town near the Xavier Institute. At the very least he was going to warn them that Toad was going to be heading their way.

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1: In the game "X-Men, Next Dimension" and I'm pretty sure in some of the comics Magneto had a teleportation device that could send his people anywhere on the planet or bring them back.

**Authors Note 2:** Ha Ha Ha! No more! Not until I get at least five more reviews, anyways! So if you want to get the next chapter, then sooner you review the sooner you get the next chapter!

Insert evil laughter here

I got the idea of Wolverine being beaten by a little girl, and had to do it. I can't wait to post the next chapter, but I will hold out until the above mentioned number of reviews comes in! Toad gets to threaten someone that _really_ needs to be told off! Yay!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** It's been three chapters. I've said in every one that I don't own this stuff. I only own the paper it's written on. (I don't even own the computer dammit! It's school property!) So if you don't get it by now that I don't own anything but my brain you're more of an idiot than originally thought.

**Authors Note:** I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I got busy with home stuff, school stuff, and all kinds of other stuff that should never have come up! Please don't hate me; I had every intention of updating after five reviews came in! Really I did!

_Ed's Tomato_: I actually really like that idea! That would be really cool! I'd have to do it later though, after all my other ideas are written out. I might steal that idea though…

_Carmilla De Winter:_Thanks for the tips! I'll try to remember to give the X-men a good side… even though they don't have one…

_JennMel:_ Thanks for reviewing! I tried to update soon, really I did! Rarely a day went by without me screaming mentally at myself to update. Damn school…

_Lady Em-Chan:_ Apparently everyone liked Emily beating up Wolverine. I know I loved writing that part, it was the most fun. I was giggling to myself as I wrote it, and while I re-typed it onto the computer. My sister didn't ask I do it that much, but my friends think I'm crazy now. I don't care though. Wolvie got beat by a little girl. That's all that matters. Now we can blackmail him with it.

_BeastBoyBlitz:_ You got jittery? Cool… I made someone jittery! Yay!

_Jemima Aslana:_ Thanks for the review! I know Toad's OOC, but as you said it can't be helped. I try to keep him as in character as possible.

Story time!

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Toad stopped when he got to a streetlight. He looked each way, trying to remember which direction the safe house was. He cursed himself for not paying more attention when Magneto had told them all where it was. He had figured he'd never need to go there.

He decided to head down one road and see where it would lead him. Emily had fallen asleep on h9is back, so he was trying to keep her asleep. Her tail had wrapped around her own waist again, keeping her pants up.

Toad sighed when he saw a large high school. It looked like it was a hundred years old, even though it was barely half that. A sign outside said the name was 'Bayville High'. Toad went past it. He figured he was heading in generally the right direction.

He felt Emily start moving around on his back. He looked briefly at her before continuing forward. He turned down a side street and started down it. He knew he needed to find the house soon, or else risk the X-dorks finding him again.

Emily yawned and lifted her head from his shoulder. She looked around at the houses they were going past curiously. Her tail wrapped around one of Toad's arms so she could stretch her arms.

"Where are we going?" She asked quietly. She was still half-asleep.

"T'some friends. They can 'elp us ge' a'hold o'Mags." Toad replied. Emily seemed happy with this answer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her head back onto his shoulder.

He turned down a street and saw a run-down house with a sign saying 'the brotherhood of Bayville boarding house' on the lawn.

"Is something wrong Daddy?" Emily asked worriedly. Toad laughed and shook his head.

"No. Nothin' at all." Toad said to her. Emily smiled and hugged Toad before he carried her across the street. He put her down on the doorstep and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.

The door opened to reveal a skinny boy with white hair standing in the doorframe. He didn't look surprised to see Toad, but looked surprised to see Emily.

"What's your name?" Emily asked, breaking the awkward silence. The boy, more of a teenager actually, stepped aside to let Toad and Emily in. The heard the door shut behind them quickly saw the boy appear in the front of them.

"That'sthekitchenupstairsarethebedroomsintheresthelivingroomwhereeveryoneelseis." The boy said quickly. He looked like he was going to say more but Toad cut him off.

"Oi! Motor mouth! Slow down or shu' up!" Toad ordered. Emily smiled and snickers could be heard from the living room. The boy gave Toad a dirty look and rolled his eyes. Toad grabbed the boy by his collar, lifted him off the floor, and pressed him against the wall.

"You mus' be Pietro." Toad growled. Emily was laughing quietly.

"Ooh, you're in trouble!" She giggled.

"And you would be?" Pietro asked slowly. He sounded nervous.

"Your wors' nightmare." Toad growled. "Mystique's told me all abou' you." He continued. He paused when Pietro got a smirk on his face. "How much of a bloody twit you are. Abou' how big your ego is jus' cause Mags is your dad. I'll warn you now, tick me off and I'll be bringin' you t'Mags in a matchbox." Toad muttered to Pietro before dropping him. Emily grinned and stuck her tongue out at Pietro. Pietro stuck his tongue back before running up the stairs in hyper-speed. Emily ran after Toad, who had gone into the living room.

There was three more teenage boys and two teenage girls standing around the room or sitting on the furniture that was falling apart. They all wore grins on their faces. Their clothes had holes in them and looked like they'd seen better days.

"Wot's so funny?" Toad asked. Emily grabbed his arm and hugged it as she hid behind him.

"You." One said. He looked like the oldest and had brown hair. He was sitting in an armchair holding a guitar.

"You shut Pietro up." A girl with blonde hair said. She was seated on one of the arms of the armchair.

"It's impossible to shut 'Tro you. You should get a medal, yo." A short boy said. He was sitting on the shoulders of a boy that filled up the doorway he was stood in, and had a blonde Mohawk.

"You said you knew Mystique, do you really?" The second girl asked. She looked Goth, and wore a long red trench coat. Toad nodded.

"Lemmie guess. You're Wanda?" Toad asked with a grin. The Goth girl nodded with a slight grin. Toad grinned back and scanned everyone else in the room. He had read all their files so he could guess at their names.

"Why hasn't mystique been coming around anymore?" The one with the Mohawk asked.

"Freddy righ'? Magneto's been needin' 'er. She's been posin' as Senator Kelly. She'll be 'round eventually." Toad said with a grin.

"So who are you? You seem to know us, yet we've never even heard of you." The one with the guitar asked. "And who's the kid?" Toad heard Emily growl. She apparently didn't like being called a kid.

"This 'kid' single-handedly took down Wolverine." Toad said with a sly grin. Emily and Toad both knew it was only because Wolverine had been holding back. But the others didn't know that. "Her name's Emily." Toad finished.

"And you are?" The blonde-haired girl asked.

"Tha's fer me t'know and you t'find out." He said. Toad knew that weird questions would arise if they found out he too was called Toad. He didn't plan on being there long anyways.

"Is there a phone 'round 'ere?" Toad asked. The short boy on Freddy's shoulders nodded. He jumped down in a graceful leap and Toad knew instantly that this was the boy with the same powers he himself had.

"This way." Todd said. He was looking strangely at Toad as if he knew something Toad didn't. Toad didn't like being out of the loop.

"Wot?" Toad demanded. Todd shook his head with a grin and led them into a kitchen. Todd hopped onto the counter and grabbed a cordless phone. He tossed it to Toad, who couldn't help himself but snatch it out of the air with his tongue. He didn't realize what he had done until it was too late. Todd was looking at Toad with a shocked expression.

"You- you- you have-" Todd stammered. He was staring wide-eyed at Toad and pointing at him. Toad slimed the boy's mouth shut before he could say anything. Toad walked calmly over to Todd and pinned the boy against the cupboards.

"'Ave th'same powers as you. Tell anyone and you'll find yerself missing a few fingers next time y'wake up." Toad whispered in Todd's ear and grabbing the hardened slime and pulling it off easily.

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And… no more! Review! This time I'll try and post faster! Sorry for the cliffy, but I needed to stop somewhere and I had no marked places. I hate cliffies too, but it gets you to come back, so they're also good! Obey the blue button!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I've been meaning to get it up sooner, I just never got the chance!

_Nyltiak:_ I'm glad you like this thing so far! I was hoping that people would like me getting Todd and Toad together. I'm trying to blend the two worlds of X-men together so that it seems like it could be true but it's really hard!

On with the story!

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"Does anyone else know?" Todd asked. Toad nodded.

"Wanda. We write letters t' each other sometimes." Toad said. Emily came in from the hallway. She looked happily from Todd to Toad with a grin.

"Are you two brothers?" She asked. The two looked dumbfoundedly at each other, then at Emily.

"Uh…" Todd said confusedly. Toad matched the look with one of his own.

"No." Toad said as he snapped out of his stupor. He lead Emily to the far end of the kitchen. Toad sat down on one of the chairs and Emily climbed up onto his lap. Todd just watched as Toad dialed the phone and pressed it to his ear.

The phone rung twice before it was picked up.

"Password?" a voice asked. Toad rolled his eyes.

"Shu' up Dime. I need t' talk t' 'Stique." Toad sighed.

"Why not me? I'm not good enough to talk to?" Dime asked in a fake hurt voice.

"Fine. Yeh wanna do wha' I need done?" Toad asked with an evil look on his face.

"Yeah!" Dime said excitedly.

"Okay. I need yeh t' fly the 'copeter t' th' Bayville safe'ouse an' pick me an' Emily up." Toad said with a grin.

"Uh… I'll go get Mystique for you." Dime said hurriedly. He waited and listened as the phone was put down on something and Dime ran off. After a few minutes the phone was picked up again.

"Toad?" It was Mystique

"I need yeh t' come an pick me an' Emily up." Toad said. He _really_ wanted to leave and get home. Before Magneto got any ideas.

"Where are you?" She asked. He heard her yawn and figured she had just been sleeping.

"Bayville safe'ouse. The girl's 'ere wif me too." Toad said as he felt Emily shift around on his lap. She was getting comfy and probably falling asleep. Toad was uncomfortably aware that Todd was still standing on the counter, watching him.

"I'll clear it with Magneto and call you back." Mystique said with another yawn.

"See yeh son. An' Mystique? Ge' a drink a coffee, eh?" Toad grinned. He knew she was probably rolling her eyes as they both hung up.

"What did she say? You leaving?" Todd asked. Toad shrugged as he ran his hand through Emily's hair. Todd nodded his head at Emily.

"She yours?" He asked quietly. Emily had fallen asleep.

"Toad decided not to answer. For a few moments they both sat there, the only sounds the ones of the teenagers in the living room getting into a fight.

"_Maybe if you put that damned guitar down and got your mind off Kitty for five minutes Mystique wouldn't ignore us!_" Someone yelled.

"_I don't see you doing anything to get on her good list!_" Another yelled back. Wanda walked in looking bored.

"This 'appen often?" Toad asked. Wanda nodded as obvious sounds of a scuffle broke out.Toad stood up and passed Emily to Todd as he left the room

" 'old 'er fer a sec." He said as he went back towards the living room. It was Pietro and Avalanche fighting. Toad separated them by pushing Avalanche away and lifting Pietro up by the scruff of his neck.

"Knock I' off! I's no one's fault tha' 'Stique's lef'! She's jus' bloody busy! You goons ain' th' center o' th' bleedin' universe!" Toad told them angrily. They were all watching him talk interestedly.

"What's she been doing that she's so busy?" Tabitha asked.

"I already told yeh. Mag's go' 'er posin' as Senetor Kelly so tha' Mutant Registration Bill won' ge' passed." Toad said. He looked down the hallway as the phone rang.

"So knock it off before I knock yeh all ou'. Mystique ain't been ignorin' yeh." Toad said before dropping Pietro. Before leaving the room he gave Pietro a death stare.

"I will follow through on tha' threa'." Toad growled as he walked out. Toad walked down the hallway towards the kitchen again. Wanda had picked the phone up.

"Here he is, eh was just breaking up a fight."

"Yeah, Pietro and Avalanche again."

"They were blaming each other for you leaving."

"Yeah, really. Well here he is." Wanda passed the phone to Toad. He pressed it to his ear.

"Well? Wha' Mag's say?" He asked.

"You're to stay there. They need an adult in the house and from what I hear they listen to you." Mystique said.

"On'y 'cause I threaten t' kill 'em if they don' bugger off." Toad sighed.

"Still. Magneto wants you to stay there, at least for a while. They need someone to train them, and he says you'd be the best person for the job." Mystique said. He could almost hear her smiling through the phone.

"It'd be easier there. Then 'Tooth'd be able t' 'elp. God knows tha' he'd 'ave fun wif 'em. 'Sides, wha' am I gonna do wif the girl 'ere? She shouldn't be raised 'round those two twits." Toad was grasping at straws.

"We could always send Pyro to help you. God knows Magneto's getting sick of him burning things." Mystique said. "And it wouldn't be any better for Emily to be raised on the island. At least there she'd have a chance at meeting a few kids her own age." Mystique pointed out.

"Rae, yeh can' seriously be thinkin' 'bout leavin' me 'ere! An' sendin' Pyro! Tha's a death sentence in i'self." Toad said frantically. He could hear Mystique laughing under her breath on the other end of the phone line.

"Magneto's orders, Mort. Nothing I can do about it. Sorry!" Mystique said, hanging up.

"No yer no'." Toad said angrily as he hung it up.

"So what's the verdict, yo? You stayin' or leaving?" Todd asked. He looked depressed.

"Mag's is makin' me stay." Toad said sullenly. His mind went over everything he had been in the process of building that now would probably not be finished. He couldn't help but sigh in defeat.

Todd and Wanda, however, looked glad that he was staying. Toad didn't know why though. He walked over and took Emily into his own arms.

"I'm goin' ou'. I'll be back later." Toad said.

"Where you going?" Wanda asked.

"Out." Toad replied.

"You don't know your way around yet though. You might get lost." Wanda pointed out.

"Daddy?" Emily muttered from Toad's arms. "Is Mr. Magneto coming to get us?" She asked. Wanda and Todd didn't look surprised in the least that Toad was Emily's father.

"No. We're gonna be stayin' 'ere fer a while." Toad said to her. She looked really happy.

"Does that mean I get to go to school?" She asked excitedly. Toad looked at the two teenagers with his eyebrow raised and they returned the look. She actually _wanted_ to go to school?

"Uh.. maybe. I'll 'ave t' think abou' it." Toad replied.

"Yay! I get to go to school! I get to go to school! I get to go to school!" Emily went around the house singing that to herself and elicting many a strange look from the occupants. They had never before seen someone so eager to go to school, but then again they'd never met anyone with Emily's past either.

"I'll show you where you guy's can stay." Wanda offered. Toad nodded and grabbed Emily on the way up. She was still pretty much jumping off the walls.

They followed Wanda up a single flight of stairs to the second floor. She pointed to two rooms on their right.

"Those can be your rooms." She said, then pointed to the two doors in front of them.

"Those are Freddy's room on the left, and Lance's room on the right." She pointed to the door to their right.

"That's the bathroom. Upstairs are mine, Todd's and Pietro's rooms along with the attic." She said. Emily ran into one of the rooms that Wanda said they could use.

"I get my own room?" She asked from the doorway. Toad walked over and looked into the room. It wasn't big, but it wasn't tiny either. It was a good size for a bedroom for one person, maybe two if you really tried and got bunk beds in there.

"Yeah, you get your own room." Wanda said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Emily didn't care though, the fact she had an entire room to herself was like Christmas came early to her and she was going to let everyone know.

"This is the best day ever!" Emily laughed and ran in. She flopped down on the single bed in the room and stared at the ceiling. Toad couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking.

"She gets excited really easily, huh?" Wanda said. Toad shrugged.

"I guess. I've on'y known 'er fer a few days now." He muttered. This astounded Wanda as she had figured, from how close the two seemed, that they had been together for years if not Emily's whole life.

"Well… I'll, uh. Leave you two to get settled in." Wanda said as she sat down. Toad walked into what was now Emily's room and sat on the bed beside her.

"You still owe me bacon and eggs." Emily said suddenly. She sat up and looked up at Toad. "You never got to make them for me. The X-Geeks came and took us away and brought us here before you could make them." Emily pointed out.

"Where'd yeh 'ear tha' name fer 'em?" Toad asked her. He himself had called them that, but not around her yet.

"Lance called them that." Emily said, pointing at the door. Toad smiled in spite of himself. He should have known…

"But you owe me bacon and eggs!" Emily insisted.

"I do, don' I?" Toad said. Now that he thought about it, he did indeed owe her that. But he highly doubted that there'd be much food in the cupboards.

"We need t'go shopping." Toad said.

"Yay! Shopping! Can Tabitha come? Please please please please please can Tabitha come?" Emily pleaded. Toad hadn't wanted Tabitha to come with them, but he guessed that it would be a good idea to have someone from the house along so he would know what they needed.

"I guess…" Toad started.

"Yay! I'll go tell her!" Emily jumped off the bed and ran out the door before Toad could even start to think about what had just happened.

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Toad, Emily, and Tabitha all walked into the Bayville mall. Emily and Toad were wearing image inducers Emily had stolen from her brief stay at the X-mansion and Toad had fixed them so that they'd look as if their skin colour was simply normal.

"You two need clothes! That's first on our list!" Tabitha said, immediately taking charge and pulling them into the first clothing store she saw, which was for children. She made a big show, Toad would later guess to make it fun for Emily, of picking out clothes and looking at them. Emily soon joined in and at first would demand that Toad tell her what he thought about the clothes, but finding him unresponsive she abandoned him and started asking Tabitha.

"So how much money can we spend on clothes, or is there a specific reason for coming here?" Tabitha asked Toad suddenly. It took him a little while to figure out what had been asked and what the answer was.

"Uh… don' matter t' me. Mag's is th' one who pays fer I'." Toad shrugged. A glint came over Tabitha's eyes that immediately regret telling her that little bit of information. Once Tabitha and Emily had chosen out a couple of outfits for Emily Toad found out he _really_ regretted telling her that, because next Tabitha was determined to find Toad some clothes.

"You're going to help look for clothes with me. If you don't, I'm going to choose them and make you look like a pimp." Tabitha threatened. Not wanting to be dressed as a pimp, Toad immediately started sifting through the clothes. The only thing that he was glad about was that he was almost sure no one he knew would come by, and if they did they wouldn't recognize him.

"Hey! Tabitha, like who's the guy and why haven't you, like, introduced me yet?" Toad and Tabitha looked up to see a teenage girl dressed in preppy clothes come up with a great big smile on her face. Toad had a sneaking suspicion she was trying to flirt with him.

"Kitty! Hi! This is a guy that just joined the Brotherhood!" Tabitha said immediately. Toad didn't want to talk to this girl, because he knew she was one of the X-men.

"So what's your name and where are you, like, from?" Kitty asked. She walked over and stood beside Toad and flipped a strand of her hair from in front of her face.

"_Yup, definitely flirting with me._" Toad thought to himself.

"Chip, an' I'm, uh, from Canada." Toad said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Wow! You're Canadian! That's, like, far away!" Kitty exclaimed. "That's so cool!"

"Uh…" Toad didn't know what to say. The only thing he knew was that he was getting really uncomfortable and really wanted to get away.

"What d'you think about this shirt?" Emily came over and showed Toad a shirt. It was black, with the West Coast Choppers logo on it.

"And who's this?" Kitty squealed. Emily grinned.

"I'm his -"

"Sister! Younger sister." Toad interrupted Emily before she could say 'daughter'. He gave her a look that said to play along.

"Yeah, I'm his little sister." Emily nodded. She liked playing make-believe.

"Wow, so you're both, like, Canadian? Wonder if you know Logan, he's Canadian too! I can go get him!" Kitty nodded.

"No! You don't need to do that! You know what Logan thinks about brotherhood members." Tabitha exclaimed. Toad continued trying to make his way to the door while looking like he was looking at the clothes. Tabitha saw him though, and pulled him back towards where her and Kitty were talking.

"True. I guess I'll leave you guy's to your shopping. Scott's probably throwing a conniption fit wondering where I am." Kitty grinned at the thought. Toad couldn't help but grin at the thought of it too.

"Okay, see you." Tabitha said. She jabbed her elbow into Toad's side.

"Bye." He muttered. Emily waved happily.

"So, _Chip_, lets go and pay for this stuff." Tabitha said with an evil grin.

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No more! Review or face my awesome wrath!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.

**Author's Note:** I had this written up and decided to post it DESPITE my new rule on no updates until I get five reviews. But I know that you all MEANT to review, but just didn't have the time. We all have those chapters. But If you don't review I'll stop writing and updating because I'll think you don't like me anymore. You don't want that do you?

**_BeastBoyBlitz:_** Yeah, I liked the idea of Kitty (of all people) getting a crush on Morty. Just wait until Lance finds out... /_joins sniggering_/

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Toad, Tabitha, and Emily sat in the food court of the Bayville mall. They were all eating subs from Subway while they made fun of the X-men sitting across the food court from them. Toad and Emily had purposely sat themselves with their backs to said X-men for fear of Scott and Logan recognizing them – particularly Toad.

"So,_ Chip,_ where we going next?" Tabitha asked, still using the name Toad had given Kitty. He rolled his eyes at her with a scowl that had made even Sabertooth back down once but did nothing to the over-energetic teen.

"Daddy, can I have a puppy?" Emily asked, pointing to the pet store across from the food court. Toad glanced up, looking at the puppies without moving, shivered from a bad childhood memory and shook his head.

"No." Toad replied simply. Emily shrugged and decided to ask again later. She hadn't noticed the shiver that had raced through Toad but Tabitha had. She kept quiet about it though as she figured that it was something he didn't like talking about. He finished his sub and and started people-watching those that passed them and were sitting close by. He watched a family with a mother, a father, a daughter around Emily's age, and a brother that looked to be around thirteen. They looked happy, and were all eating meals from McDonalds. They were all wearing jeans and t-shirts of varying colours and had shopping bags sitting underneath the table they sat at. Toad couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like if he hadn't been born so visibly different.

"Daddy, can we go look at the puppies?" Emily asked. Toad looked at her and shrugged.

"Yeh can go, bu' I ain' goin' in. I'll wai' 'ere fer yeh." Toad said. Emily grinned and ran off to look at said puppies. Toad watched her go, not knowing that Tabitha had given Emily a hundred dollar bill with the intent for Emily to buy herself something. Tabitha had taken it out of a man's pocket along with a two more and three twenty dollar bills. The man hadn't even noticed.

"So why don't you want to go into the pet shop?" Tabitha asked Toad. Toad shrugged.

"No reason." He said quietly. He hoped that she wouldn't ask for more details, and he kind of got his wish.

"Hey Tabitha." Scott walked by followed by Logan and a few of the new recruits for the X-men, including Kitty.

"Hi Tabby!" Kitty said happily. "Oh! Logan! You have to, like, meet this guy!" Kitty grabbed Logan's arm and started leading the man towards Tabitha and Toad's table, unaware that doing so would cause a big fight and get Toad, Scott and Logan permanently banned from the mall.

"Why?" Logan sighed.

"'Cause he's, like, Canadian too! Maybe you'll, like, know each other!" Kitty replied as she pulled Logan closer and closer to Toad and Tabitha's table. Toad was suddenly very grateful that Emily was in the pet shop.

"Doubt it." Logan muttered as Kitty stopped pulling him.

"Like, don't be such a downer Logan!" Kitty sighed with a smile. "Chip, this is Logan. Logan this is Chip." Kitty said with a smile that Toad was sure couldn't be humanly possible to keep on her face and wonder if phasing was her only mutant ability. Toad tried his best to not look at Logan, despite the fact that he knew Logan would recognize him from his smell. Tabitha also knew this and was desperately trying to think of a way to get Toad and herself out of there without seeming rude.

Logan stared at Toad with a confused grin on his face. He sniffed once, then twice, trying to remember where he had smelled that odor before. One of a swamp and a hint of pine. A very outdoorsy smell that he knew he recognized but couldn't quiet place. Then in one instant, he remembered where he recognized that smell and who it belonged to.

"You!" Logan roared. He pushed Kitty out of the way and jumped towards Toad, who had been tense and ready for a reaction like that. Therefore Toad jumped just in time and latched himself onto the ceiling, but not before one of Logan's claws cut into Toad's image-inducer and made it flicker and die to reveal his true appearance. The people in the food court went running and screaming, and caused those with cell phones to call 911.

"Toad! I should have known!" Scott exclaimed. He told all the recruits to handle the crowds while he and Logan handled Toad. Tabitha went to keep Emily away from the fight so that she didn't get hurt.

"Can' you two jus' bugger off an' le' me 'lone!" Toad shouted from the ceiling.

"What are you doing here, Toad?" Scott demanded. His left hand was holding the edge of his glasses for two reasons: to make sure Toad didn't steal them, and so that he could move them and shoot his eye beams at Toad should the need arise. Toad laughed and sent them a grin.

"I's a bleedin' mall, mate! Wot you think I'm doin'?" Toad laughed.

"Stealing candy from children? Robbing the stores blind? Setting up a bomb?" Scott offered.

"Come down here and we might not hurt you." Logan growled. The three could hear the police coming closer.

"Daddy!" Emily's screech caused the three mutant's to look towards her. She had lost her image inducer and was being pulled away by a group of police officers. Toad's blood ran cold and panic set itself into his stomach knowing that he had to do something but if he even moved Cyclops would blast him into next week. He glanced from Cyclops to Logan to Emily, who was trying desperately to fight the men off. Fear was written plainly on his face as the thought of what those officers might do to her. Tabitha had been knocked out from behind – a dirty trick to get at Emily by one of the officers – and was laying unconscious on the mall's floor outside the pet shop.

"Daddy! Help!"Emily had tears in her eyes. Toad could see many of the officers pulling out nightsticks and panic set itself to ravage his body as he was pulled into one of his memories. He suddenly didn't care about Scott and Logan waiting just below him, only wanting to get the officers away from Emily.

Toad dropped down from the ceiling of the food court. Scott and Logan didn't even stop him as he ran towards the officers, beating them away from Emily in any way he could. He even went as far as using his unnatural strength to pull one of the chairs attached to the food court's floor and throwing it at some of the officers. He fought in a blind fury until he got to Emily. He simply grabbed her and jumped up onto the wall and out of the reach of the police. He allowed a single tear to fall as he realized the police had indeed started beating her with their knight sticks and had caused her to fall unconscious. Now Logan and Scott were fighting the police and getting them to leave.

"Come down here Toad!" Scott ordered. He had obviously tried to make it sound angry but hadn't managed it. Toad could tell that Scott wouldn't do him or Emily any harm if he did go down (which, he told himself, he wasn't going to until they left) but Logan had a look that said he wanted to rip Toad to shreds.

"Bugger off!" Toad told them. The three stood there for a good ten minutes, neither side moving. Toad was holding Emily in his arms. He knew he couldn't stay there with her for much longer, as her extra weight, little as it was, was making him use more energy than it usually would for him to simply be holding himself on the wall.

"...daddy...?" Emily whispered. She blinked her eyes and looked up at him. He could see a bruise forming around her left eye and more bruises forming on her arms.

"Toad, she should be properly looked at. Where are you going to take her?" Scott shouted. Toad glared at him.

"No' ta you lo', tha's fer sure." Toad muttered. Emily smiled, evidentially hearing him.

"Can we go home now?" Emily asked. Toad sighed and nodded and shifted her onto his back. She held on with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he jumped down over to Tabitha. She woke up quickly and Toad told her he was taking Emily home. Tabitha looked around him to see Scott and Logan running towards them and nodded assuring him that she'd get the few bags of clothes that were still sitting on a chair at the table they had been sitting at.

0o0o0o0o0

Toad arrived back at the house to find it in utter chaos. He had no idea of what was going on, only that whatever it was, was very very loud. He could hear Lance and Todd yelling at each other, Wanda yelling at Pietro, Pietro yelling at Lance and Todd to shut up, and Fred at all of them to be quiet because he couldn't hear the TV. Toad went upstairs, still unknown to the house that he was back, and put Emily in her room. He then made his way back downstairs to what he knew used to be Mystique's room and was now Tabitha's room and looked behind and under stuff until he found what he was looking for – a safe. He thought through all the lock combinations that he knew until he found the right one, put it in, and opened it. He pulledtwo things out – an air horn – before closing and locking it again. He alsotook out one of the many neat stacks of hundred-dollar bills, but completely ignored the candid pictures of the X-men at school (it was the summer so none of them were there right now) and files on new prospects for the brotherhood. He'd look at them later.

He made his way to the living room, where they were all yelling at each other for reasons unknown to him, and stood in the doorway for a few seconds unnoticed. He plugged one ear and let the air horn go. He knew that Emily had her ears covered because he had warned her ahead of time.

All the teenagers stopped their yelling to cover their ears until Toad stopped the air horn. They were all looking at him as if he was a ghost, as none of them had heard him come in. Toad knew all their ears were ringing as the one ear he hadn't been able to cover was ringing.

"What was that for, yo?" Todd demanded. Freddy was looking sadly at the spilled cheezies now on the floor. Everyone was now looking at Toad with mixed anger and confusion.

"I's no wonder you lo' can' bea' th' X-men! Yeh can' even ge' along wif each other!" This caused them all to look at their shoes with guilt. "Wot's the fightin' abou' this time?" Toad demanded after a few minutes.

"Who was going to go grocery shopping." Lance said. "We all have things planned and none of us want to do it but it can't be left off for tomorrow because tomorrow's Sunday and we have no food." Lance explained.

"We don't have any money either, which is why Pietro should go because he can just run in and out without anyone seeing him." Wanda said.

"ButIHaveADateThatICan'tBlowOff. ToddShouldGoBecauseHe'sGoodAtStealingStuff." Pietro said quickly.

"But I'm watching a Mythbusters marathon that I've been waiting for, for two months, yo. That's why Lance should go because he's almost as good as me." Todd explained.

"But I can't because I have a date with Kitty. So Todd should go because he's seen every episode they've ever put out twice." Lance growled at Todd. Very soon the shouting started back up and forced Toad to use to air horn again to shut them all up again.

"All o' yeh keep quiet! Emily's tryin' ta sleep!" Toad yelled at all of them.

"If she's trying to sleep then why d'you keep blasting that goddamn air horn!" Lance demanded. Toad grinned and pulled out a pair of simple plastic ear plugs.

"These. 'ow the 'ell d'yeh think I go' any sleep livin' wif Sabertoof?" Toad laughed under his breath. "Made 'em meself so tha' they block out any an' all noise." Toad explained. Wanda was grinning, because she had a couple sets up in her room. She had asked Toad to send her some because she hadn't been able to sleep living with the brotherhood.

"Oh." Lance said stupidly.

"Now. Yeh need th' shopping done? Why don' yeh all go a' once? Team bonding experience." Toad said. It was more of an order than a suggestion seeing as he had been left in charge by Magneto.

"But we don't have any money." Todd pointed out. Toad held up his finger and pulled the single stack of hundred-dollar bills that he had taken from the safe in Mystique's room. He pulled a few out and handedthem to Wanda (the only one of them that he currently trusted with that much money) without a single word. Everyone but Wanda was surprised that he had that much money on his person, figuring that he of all people would know the dangers of carrying that much money around with you.

"How..?" Pietro demanded. "My father doesn't give even ME that much money! Why'd he give YOU that much?" He demanded slowly. He had obviously remembered Toad's still withstanding threat.

"Never you mind." Toad growled. "Just keep your bloody traps shu'." Toad ordered. "and go ge' groceries." He yawned as he turned around and went back upstairs to his room. He could vaguely hear them arguing quietly with Wanda on who got to hold the money while they all left. Toad grinned as he lay down on his bed and put the ear plugs into his ears so that when they did finally get back they wouldn't wake him up if he still happened to be asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Oatmeal? I don't have any Oatmeal! I don't have anything dammit!

**Authors Note:** Well I guess three reviews for chapter six is pretty good. And if I count the one that BeastBoyBlitz did on my website it's four… so I guess I can update with four….

This is it! no more! Last chapter!Yay for me!

And just as a little side note, all of you that are reading this: go and borrow 'Orphanage' by Robert Buettner from your local library. It's a very good book. That's why I'm having Emily read it. Emily's now officially a sci-fi fan! Yay Emily!

_Gerty:_ I'm glad you like the story so far. I have to say I enjoy re-reading it to check on facts and continuity. I know I'm having fun writing it.

_The Left Hand Of God:_ Happy you like this too! And it's perfectly okay that you haven't been reviewing, I have to admit I don't review all the stories I'm reading. I wish I did though. Bad me! _/smacks self too/_

_SD Freek:_ Yes, I am still updating my story. In fact, I have ideas for a sequel to this story. Two sequels, if I stay interested long enough. And you wouldn't believe who I'm pairing Emily up with…._ /smiles evilly/_

0o0o0o0

Toad had long since woken up and been watching TV when the brotherhood teenagers came back with armfuls of groceries. Toad wondered if they even needed the amount of food they had bought, and if they even had the space to store it all. For they were all carrying more bags than was probably safe to, and Freddy was carrying three times as many as the others.

"I never want to do that again, yo." Todd sighed as he put all the bags he was holding down on the kitchen floor. He then started going through them and putting them away into the cupboards that were very empty.

"Yeah. Shopping with Freddy is not something I want to experience ever again. I don't think my stomach can handle it." Tabitha agreed. She put her bags down next to Todd's as Toad came in to help them.

"Wot 'appened?" Toad asked them. He didn't know if he wanted to hear the answer.

"It's too horrible to say." Pietro said.

"I won' ask then." Toad said with a grin. Emily came down the stairs while rubbing her eyes and yawning. She was about to go into the kitchen when she was whisked out of the way with Pietro running through where she had just been standing. Emily looked behind her to see Todd standing and pulling his tongue back into his mouth. She had a light coating of slime around her waist now but she didn't really mind.

"Careful, yo." Todd said to her before hopping over to the counter. Emily grinned and nodded to him before going to help put the groceries away for the first time in her life.

0o0o0o0

** Two Years Later **

A ten-year-old Emily sat on her bed, in her room. The walls of her room were decorated with pictures ripped out of magazines, drawings from the children she babysat in her spare time, and drawings that she had done herself. The ones she had done herself were all very well done and recognizable as scenes from around the brotherhood boarding house.

In her hands was a book entitled 'Orphanage' with the name 'Robert Buettner' underneath it. A picture was drawn underneath it, of a man in what looked to be a futuristic red space-suit holding a big-ass gun over his shoulder. The pages were bent and torn, a sign that the book had been read many times.

The window in the wall just above her nightstand showed that it was well into the night. The digital indiglo clock on the dresser shone 2:30am, a time that usually only had drunk people and druggies awake at. But Emily was determined to finish this book so that she could write a book report on it for school the next day, and when Emily was determined to get something done it was damn near impossible to stop her until she met her goals.

A quiet noise below her caught her attention. Normally any sane person would have ignored such a small noise, but not Emily. That was because she knew she was the only one awake in the house, and that no one else that lived in the house would be waking up until at least 8:45am the next morning. Therefore Emily knew it could only be one thing: robbers.

Emily quietly snuck down the stairs, being very careful not to awaken her father in the room next to hers. She had learned very early on that it was damn near impossible to sneak past him unless he wore earplugs, something she made a point of making sure he wore everyday before he went to bed.

Emily reached the bottom of the stairs and peeked around them to try and see who was there. She saw a shadow and suddenly there was a loud bang. A sudden pain in her arm caused her to stumble backwards. She clapped her hands twice and the lights in the kitchen, where the shadow was standing, turned on.

She immediately recognized the person from pictures her father had shown her. It was one of the men from one of the many anti-mutant groups that her father was wanted by.

She saw the person coming towards her in a threatening manner and did exactly what she had been told to do should something like this ever happen, by just about ever single occupant of the house: run like hell to the Xavier Mansion. The brotherhood may not like the X-men's company, but when it came to Emily's safety they didn't care about who they did and didn't like; as long as she was okay, they were happy.

She ran down the street, turned down another street. She didn't even pay attention to where she was going anymore. Her mind was clouded by pain and her feet were just going where she needed to be on their own.

Emily walked up the X-mansion's drive, turning just as she reached the main door. She could see smoke and flames coming from where she knew the brotherhood boarding house used to be, and a single tear ran down her cheek. All she wanted to do was run back down the driveway, back to the house she now called home to the people she called family. She didn't, however. She had been told to stay away from the house, that they would find her. So she needed to stay there.

Emily knocked on the X-mansion's front door. She knew someone would be awake despite the late hour and she was right. Iceman came to the door, looking surprised and just a little more than slightly peeved. She was a brotherhood member, after all.

"What d'you want?" He demanded a little more rudely than he had intended to.

"Friends Of Humanity attacked the brotherhood boarding house. This was the only safe place I could go, please don't send me back there!" Emily pleaded with him. More tears were falling from her eyes as he stepped back to let her inside.

"Thank you." She said quietly. She turned to look one more time at the smoke rising from where the boarding house was before the door was closed. They'd be okay. They promised her that they'd never leave her behind. And family's didn't lie to each other, did they?

** fin **

**Last Author's Note:**

Just to clear something up that my sister said I should when she beta-read it, The FOH member that invaded the BH boarding house shot one of those triple-dart thingy's at Emily that they used in X2. It just didn't work because of her scales. I figured it just wouldn't be designed to go through her scales and therefore wouldn't do anything; giving her time to run away while he was confused. There. Explained.

Now. To the actually INTERESTING stuff. My sequel to this will be up soon, I just have to type it up. I do know what's gonna happen through it, how it's gonna end, and actually have a sequel in mind for the sequel. Wow, this thing's turning into a series! My very own series, yay!


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